1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved battery chamber structure for a small electronic apparatus in which a battery is connected to the electronic apparatus via a connector device such as male and female connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
One or more batteries are generally used as a power source of a small electronic apparatus such as a mobile electronic device. A large-capacity battery is often provided in the form of a battery pack, having a plurality of cells packed in a single case, and an electrical lead wire (lead wire bundle) having a plug-in connector at its end is drawn from the battery pack so that the battery pack is electrically connected to the electronic apparatus via the connector.
A malfunction may occur in a small electronic device using such a type of battery if the connector of the battery is accidentally disconnected during operation of the electronic device. To prevent this problem from occurring, various technical ideas for preventing the connector of the battery from being accidentally disconnected from an associated connector on the electronic device have been proposed. Mobile electronic devices are quite likely to suffer from vibrations and shock, and accordingly, there is a possibility of the two connectors loosening by continuous vibrations or shock, thus causing a malfunction to occur. For instance, in electronic devices using an IC memory card, the connector of the battery is prevented from being disconnected unless the IC memory card is removed by adopting a mechanism for making the IC memory card and a battery chamber lid engaged mechanically with each other. However, such a mechanical structure cannot be adopted for electronic devices which do not use an IC memory card. An electronic apparatus in which the connector for the battery is provided with a locking mechanism for locking the connector has been proposed. However, this type of locking mechanism tends to make the connector difficult to operate and there is a possibility of the locking mechanism being damaged or the aforementioned electrical lead wire being broken during withdrawal of the connector of the battery.